Hindi: नलका vs नल for faucet/tap

[amiramir]

I grew up hearing the word नलका for tap from my daadi. The other day, a lady who is quite knowledgeable about language and diction told me that नलका is old-fashioned (which makes sense I guess since I heard it from my daadi who would now be 100 this year) and that I should use नल instead. I have no reason to doubt her judgment, but I thought I'd ask you guys whether you agree.

Should I be using नलके का पानी or नल का पानी?

Many thanks

 

[marrish]

I'll stay with your daadii's choice. For me 'nal' is the pipeline which can lead to a tap 'nalkaa'.
I couldn't find the word 'nalkaa' in my Hindi dictionary; what I did find is nalikaa from Sanskrit apparently so it might well be old-fashioned! But old is gold!

 

[mundiya]

Here is a Hindi dictionary entry for nalkaa.

I think nalkaa is originally a Punjabi word, which some Hindi speakers use and others don't. Even at the time of Platts, nalkaa was not a mainstream word in Hindi/Urdu.

 

[littlepond]

"nalkaa" is indeed not only old-fashioned in Hindi, but I would think not that much common even in old times in Hindi. The more common word in Hindi, at least since some time now, is "nal" for a tap.

 

[Jashn]

I've only heard 'nal', but as a person who speaks as a second-language, that may not mean much. I was taught the word in order to help me remember how to write the letter 'na' in Hindi, since it sort of looks like a tap with a horizontal line on top: न

 

[mundiya]

"nalkaa" is indeed not only old-fashioned in Hindi, but I would think not that much common even in old times in Hindi. The more common word in Hindi, at least since some time now, is "nal" for a tap.

What term do you use for the pipeline that leads to the nal (tap)?

 

[Englishmypassion]

I have always considered "nalka" to be a colloquial (regional?) term, not a standard formal Hindi usage. But I'm no authority at all.

 

[amiramir]

Thanks to all who chimed in. Maybe it is an old punjabi-ism, as mundiyji posits (my daadi was Punjabi) नलका does come up all over the net. There's even a youtube video that uses both nalka and nal in the same skit.

 

[littlepond]

What term do you use for the pipeline that leads to the nal (tap)?

"nalii" (not "naalii", which would be drain)